In many television (TV) markets there are many knowledgeable retailers often staffed by manufacturer's paid staff or other knowledgeable sales personnel. Customers can comparison shop with facts that obtained at the store with the assistance of such knowledgeable staff. In such environments, the customer is usually able to interact with the TV that they considering. Some TVs incorporate a demo mode which may be helpful in assisting a sales person or consumer in learning about the features of a particular TV.
Tethered remote controls are sometimes made available to check out all of a TV's features. But, unfortunately, TVs are often left by customers in various modes of operation that are not beneficial to sales, and store personnel has to be vigilant to put the TV back in a suitable mode, otherwise the presentation of the TV may be less attractive to a potential buyer.
In some retail outlets, TVs are sold through non-assisted or partially assisted retail environments. At these sites, the customer may not be able to interact with many, if not all, of the TVs on display. In such environments, often every TV is tuned to an in-store channel and the content may not show-off any particular TV's features. In fact, the content is often literally a series of advertisements for shows (for which the retail outlet may be compensated), program channels and captive brand products. Any description of TV technology may be by virtue of paid ads that a TV manufacturer or marketer places on the ad channel. In view of such revenue generation by the retailer, special demos that pre-empt a store's standard demo arrangement may require special consideration and placement on an end cap which in turn may be a product location that is either not available or available only for a premium price or other consideration from the vendor to the store. Hence, in such markets it is difficult for a manufacturer to showcase its product advantages over the competition and difficult for a consumer to make an informed decision regarding purchase.